London Mayor Sir Sadiq Khan has felt the wrath of some political voices over “backtracking” on a promise to ban gambling advertisements from the London Tube network.
The pledge formed part of his 2021 re-election manifesto, however, he has yet to fulfill this promise, and Khan has now said that he will wait for the government to “provide a national framework to addressing the issue” before taking action.
This was in response to a written question from Green Party member of the London Assembly, Caroline Russell, who asked the mayor when he will “implement an ethical advertising policy for [Transport for London], rather than wait for Londoner’ complaints and media outcry to remove gambling adverts from the transport network”.
Khan told Russell that he would not move on the issue until he heard more details about the government’s plans in the area of gambling advertisement.
Filling the gaps in the evidence base
In its general election manifesto, Labour said it was “committed to reducing gambling-related harm” and in November 2024 announced the introduction of a statutory levy on the research, education and treatment (RET) of gambling harm.
20% of the levy’s revenue will be directed to UK Research and Innovation and the Gambling Commission to conduct research to inform future policy and prevention strategies.
A spokesperson for the London Mayor told the Evening Standard that Khan is pleased that one of the specific objectives of the new research is seeking to “fill gaps in the evidence base, specifically further understanding the impact of advertising”.
They added: “The mayor hopes that the new Government’s leadership on this will provide a national framework to addressing this issue, including providing a national definition of harmful gambling advertising. Once concluded, the mayor will, in turn, consider how he may be able to support at a regional level.”
Legal challenges
This is not the first time that the London Mayor has faced scrutiny over his inaction. Last year, the London Assembly’s health committee warned Khan that the city’s rate of problem gambling is almost twice the average seen across Britain.
However, Dr Tom Coffey, Health Advisor to Khan, told the committee that a ban could face a legal challenge if restrictions are introduced based on its own definition of ‘harmful gambling’.
“What I do not think you would want me to do is do something that would cost millions in legal challenges and not move the dial one little bit,” said Coffey.
Gambling advertising represents a significant source of income for TfL. Between April 2022 and March 2023 alone, the industry spent £663,640 on marketing on the tube network.
